Methods of providing a remote user with information or services via a communications network are well established. For example airline tickets can be purchased by a customer over the telephone, the customer being connected to an agent of the airline who records the customer's details and arranges the payment of the airline for the tickets by asking for details printed upon the customer's credit card. The number of customers requesting information or services is frequently larger than the number of agents dealing with the requests and consequently it is common for the customers to be placed in a queue to await connection to an agent. The prioritizing of customers within a queue is often based upon a “first-come-first-served” system although other methods are known for example in telephone systems providing Direct Dialing In (DDI) facilities or those which use Calling Line Identity (CLI) information for queuing purposes.
Increasingly companies are providing similar services electronically via the Internet. In this case a user visiting a Web site can request communication with an agent for example by clicking on a “push-to-talk” button. Queuing of such requests is often required and the requests themselves may be in the form of e-mails or voice calls using the Internet link. The user can then communicate directly with the agent via the Internet.
Users held within a queue quickly grow impatient if they are made to wait for connection to an agent and consequently many users simply disconnect from the queue if they are made to wait for too long. The loss of a user from a queue represents a loss of potential sales to the user. Additionally, a company providing services over a communications network is often unaware of the relative potential value of particular users before contact with an agent has been established. The user may represent a large business and consequently the loss of potential sales in such a case can be considerable. Hence there is a desire to identify potentially valuable customers and place them in contact with an agent as quickly as possible.